


The Things You Associate with Christmas

by Shaymeme



Category: Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Crying, Hurt, Past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29818422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaymeme/pseuds/Shaymeme
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, and joy can be found in everyone.Everyone, except for one person.Ashley Taylor has no Christmas joy, and isn't acting like herself at all.Riko just wishes she knew why, so that she could help her dear friend.Note: was originally written for a fanwriting contest, the theme being "make a New Year's/Christmas themed Magia Record fic".
Kudos: 7





	The Things You Associate with Christmas

Colorful, bright lights.

Delicious food.

Gifts under a tree.

Spending time with a warm, loving family.

Those are the first things that came to Riko Chiaki’s mind when the word “Christmas” was mentioned.

Pretty standard things to associate with the word; things that everyone associated with it.

However, there was one thing that Riko Chiaki certainly did not associate with Christmas, and that was, of course, nearly getting killed by a witch. So obviously, the first thing that happened to her during December 24th, Christmas eve, after school was over that day, was that she ran into a witch on her way back home.

She was scared. Terrified, even; but she knew that she had to stop that witch. To kill it, before it could hurt any innocent people. Normally, a kid Riko’s age wouldn’t try to stop such a horrifying monstrosity, especially if they didn’t have to, so why should she be any different?

Riko still remembered the first time she had to fight a witch. People, all under the monster’s spell, the mark of its kiss on their necks, wandered into the labyrinth. Riko saw all of that happening, and she was so terrified, she couldn’t move. She was scared. She was just an 11-year-old kid. She couldn’t stop this… this **thing** , anyway. And besides, was it really all that bad that she didn’t want to risk herself? I mean, surely, some older, stronger, more experienced magical girl would come and rescue the people, right? …Right?

Those were the thoughts that crossed Riko’s mind during her first encounter with a witch, hoping; nay, **praying** , that some other magical girl would come and defeat the witch, so that she wouldn’t have to face the monster alone.

However, no one came. Riko just stood there silently, shaking, paralyzed by sheer terror. She didn’t want to act. She didn’t want to die. She couldn’t beat the witch. As much as she hated herself for it, she realized that she wasn’t going to save those people. The witch was going to consume them, and Riko would have to live with the guilt of knowing that she could’ve saved them, but didn’t, because she was too afraid, for the rest of her life. She turned back, ready to leave, not wanting to see it anymore.

And then, she saw the last person to enter the labyrinth. That person was none other than Mrs. K, the neighbor’s daughter, a kind girl, who has been babysitting Riko ever since the magical girl could remember herself, to the point where she considered the older girl her own older sister, calling her such. “Onee… San…?” Riko muttered to herself in confusion as she watched the helpless older girl approach the labyrinth’s entrance. “ONEE-SAN!” Riko yelled out, trying to snap the girl out of the trance she was in, however, it was futile; the girl simply stepped into the labyrinth and got swallowed in it.

Not hesitating for even a second, Riko rushed into the labyrinth at what felt to her like the speed of sound. It was like all the fear of facing the witch that paralyzed her dissipated into nothing. Passing through the entrance into the labyrinth, Riko transformed into her magical girl outfit, her weapon – a giant bento pick – manifesting in her hand. She ran around the labyrinth, calling for her older sister, desperately trying to find the despicable witch that enchanted her so that she could kill it, and free the older girl. Riko eventually found the witch, and when she did, she could feel a wave of nigh indomitable terror wash over her. The creature was so grotesque and horrific that she could barely process its appearance. She tried to attack it, intimidate it, dodge its attacks; **anything**. She simply couldn’t. The fear paralyzed her. She scanned the labyrinth’s main room, desperately trying to find something that could help her beat the witch, and hopefully come out of the fight alive, and then…

She saw it.

Her older sister’s limp, lifeless body. Her skin pale, her expression locked in a perpetual, unchanging smile, one that was filled with anguish and regret, yet so much happiness and joy. Upon seeing that expression, Riko felt the fear that paralyzed her dissipate. She could move her body again. She stared the witch down, now fully prepared to take her on. That was because while she still did fear the witch, there was a much, **much** stronger force that was pushing her to act.

The fear of losing her older sister.

And that fear easily dwarfed the fear she felt by just being in the presence of the eldritch monstrosity in front of her. The witch tried to instill fear in Riko, make it easier to kill and consume her, but Riko was much more afraid of losing her older sister then she was afraid of some stupid witch.

That day, Riko fought her first witch. She took it down, and when she did, she collapsed onto the ground and started crying tears of pure relief. She later checked on her older sister, discovering that the teenage girl was simply knocked out.

Every time Riko encountered a witch, she remembered that fight. The fight where she nearly lost her older sister. The fight that made her swear that she will eradicate any witch she encounters, no matter how afraid she is.

Because if she won’t, how does she know that someone else will?

That oath was what pushed Riko to fight a witch on Christmas eve. She was afraid, but still, she didn’t hesitate for a second as she nonetheless entered the labyrinth. Unfortunately, she was woefully unprepared. In less than 5 minutes, Riko was already pinned to the wall by one of the witch’s appendages, the young girl’s weapon out of her reach. The witch looked Riko straight in the eyes, not making a sound. She didn’t need to. The feeling of being gazed down by such a powerful, horrifying creature, knowing that she was gonna die by its hands, nothing capable of stopping her inevitable death; that feeling terrified Riko, every cell in her body paralyzed from the horror she experienced. She cried. She wished that she would somehow survive, knowing full well that such a thing was impossible. She could feel her underwear being soiled, a somewhat-odorful liquid trickling down her legs, soaking her shoes. She was going to die. There was no way out. Her life was about to end.

Her salvation appeared in the form of bright, loud explosions, colored neon pink and blue. Riko knew these explosions well. As the witch let go of her, recoiling from the pain, Riko fell down, only to be caught by a tall, blonde girl.

“Are you OK?” Ashley Taylor asked her. Riko simply nodded. She knew Ashley well, and the blonde American was a good friend of hers. Normally, Ashley would say some quip, or something about “Kawaii”, and Riko would reply accordingly, however, that didn’t happen this time. Ashley didn’t say anything, and Riko didn’t initiate a conversation. Ashley gently placed Riko onto her feet, before turning to face the witch. She took steady, measured steps towards it, ready to take it down. But something was wrong. Ashley’s face was dark and grim, her body too stiff, her movements lacking any of their usual energy or bounce. Even Kumanosuke, the sentient bear, Ashley’s trusted weapon and partner in crime, seemingly floated alongside her in a dead, emotionless manner. Something was wrong about Ashley, and it bothered Riko immensely. Regardless, the American blonde quickly dispatched of the witch, the labyrinth vanishing around the two magical girls, who reverted to their normal clothes, which fortunately meant that Riko wouldn’t need to clean her soiled outfit.

“Ash…” Riko started saying, but paused when the older girl turned to face her, the vacant, emotionless stare in her eyes stopping Riko dead in her tracks. “What is it, Riko-Chan?” she asked blankly. There was no excitement, no happiness, no _nothing_ in her voice. Something about Ashley Taylor was horribly, horribly wrong. “N-nothing, it’s just that you seem a bit off… Is everything OK…?”

Ashley sighed. It wasn’t like her. Not one bit. “I’m sorry, Riko-Chan. I’m just really tired. Don’t worry, OK? I just need to rest a bit. I’ll be just like normal tomorrow.” The blonde said, an obviously forced smile plastered on her face. It wasn’t like Ashley at all. However, before Riko could say anything, the girl already walked away, her pace too quick for Riko to follow. She didn’t understand why Ashley was acting the way she was. She wanted to understand, and she knew that aside from Ashley herself, there was probably only one other person who would know the reason why.

xxx

Mitama Yakumo always had an affinity for Riko. After all, the 11-year-old was simply so adorable, kind and well-mannered, it was impossible not to be smitten by her. Because of that, when she knocked on the door of Mitama’s shop on Christmas eve, asking to talk, the older girl couldn’t refuse even if she wanted to.

“So, Riko-Chan, what did you want to talk about?” Mitama asked cheerfully with a massive grin on her face, carefully pouring hot tea into the freezing 11-year-old’s cup.

“Yakumo-San… You perform adjustments for everyone in Kamihama, right?”

“Yes.”

“I heard that when you perform adjustments, you can see into a person’s soul… Is that true?”

“Well, saying I can see into their soul is a tad inaccurate; I see their memories, but technically, yes; I can see into a person’s soul. Why are you asking, Riko-Chan?”

“It’s… Nothing. I was just wondering… When was the last time you performed an adjustment on a girl named ‘Ashley Taylor’?”

The question stumped Mitama. The name didn’t ring any bells; hell, it didn’t even sound Japanese! And yet, it sounded vaguely familiar. She scratched her head, trying to remember why she knew that name, then, it hit her. “Ahh, the _gaijin_ , right?”

“Y-yeah… The _gaijin_ … Ashley Taylor…” Riko had an awkward expression on her face, as if the term ‘gaijin’ being used to refer to Ashley made her feel uncomfortable, but she also didn’t feel comfortable enough to say that.

“What about her, Riko-Chan? Don’t tell me… Has she been mean to you?”

“No! Not at all! Actually, me and Ashley-San are really good friends, it’s just that… I ran into her today. Barely an hour ago, actually. Usually, she’s so happy and energetic; just being around her brightens your day, but… She seemed so off. Dejected. Down. Like something was bugging her. She didn’t want to talk about it, so I know I probably shouldn’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, but… I don’t want to see her feeling so down. I want to know what’s wrong, so that maybe… Maybe I can help cheer her up. So, Yakumo-San, please tell me; have you ever seen anything in Ashley-San’s memories that might explain why she’s feeling so down right now?”

Mitama had a very strict policy when it came to her clients’ privacy, but… The adorable, little Riko-Chan needed the information to help her friend. She can make an exception this once. “let’s see…” Mitama said aloud, scanning through her memories, trying to remember what she saw in the blonde American’s memories last time she came for an adjustment. “I don’t remember anything. Sorry I couldn’t help you, Riko-Chan.”

Riko sighed. “It’s fine. Sorry for bugging you, Yakumo-San.”

xxx

Entering her darkened, lifeless apartment, Ashley locked the door behind her. She headed straight for her bedroom, not bothering to turn any lights on, not even taking her shoes off as she plopped onto the big, soft mattress. She tried to fall asleep, but couldn’t. It was Christmas eve; she should be out with her friends, having fun, not holed up in her bedroom, trying to sleep. Worst case scenario, she should be with her family, eating a Christmas dinner…

Her family…

Unable to hold it in any longer, Ashley teared up, the small tears quickly turning into an uncontrollable sob. Why did she have to remember it now, of all times?

“Why did you have to leave us so early? Why couldn’t we celebrate it as a family one last time? Why couldn’t we get until Christmas…?” Ashley whispered in a shrill voice, the tears choking her. The memories came back, flooding her. They were wonderful, but they hurt. They hurt so much.

“Why did you have to leave me, daddy…?”

**The end.**

**Author's Note:**

> So... I posted my last piece almost two weeks ago, and in its notes, I said that I have one more small piece, and then comes the big, multi-chapter story I've been working on.  
> This is that one more small piece, meaning that now comes the multi-chapter fic, and with it re-reading of already existing chapters, to make sure they're good/grammatically correct, make sure that they don't contradict each other, and generally make sure I don't despise them. There's also writing new chapters for it.  
> Then, finally, there's posting them, and hoping that you guys enjoy them!  
> So yeah, I don't know how much time it'll actually take me until I post the first part of the multi-chapter fic, but hopefully it won't take me more then 2 weeks, considering all the first few chapters are finished.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this one! See you next time!


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